Hi Mark,

Zinnias cross-pollinate very easily, so there is only a slim chance that saved seed will come true to color, but it might happen. Your odds increase exponentially if you only grew one color of zinnia and if there were no other colors of zinnias growing in a bed nearby. Your odds also increase if you had few pollinators. Zinnias in our garden, though, always attract a lot of pollinators, and pollinators can carry pollen from one person's yard or garden to another person's unless there is quite some distance between them.

It also depends on which zinnias you grew. Some of the very old open-pollinated varieties are more likely to come true to seed if there is little or no cross-pollination. Hybrids, because of their mixed parentage, most likely would not, although every now and then they surprise you.

In the past, when I have saved zinnia seed I have gotten a nice blend of colors, but mostly in the pink to purplish range, even if I saved seed from zinnias of all colors. Sometimes, I'll get a zinnia that is mostly pink or mostly purple but with a row or two of petals that are a different color. So, I really don't bother saving zinnia seed anymore unless I want seed to start in a different location. Instead, in the fall, I let the drying seedheads fall to the ground and reseed themselves.

Dawn

Dawn thanks for your reply. I figured that was the case, I was just hoping that it was not. Is there a place where I can buy seed that is a specific color?

Mark

Most seed catalogs offer seeds in specific colors. Try a "Bazaar" search here.
Helpful Nik

Here is a link that might be useful: start here for zinnia seeds

Mark,

As Lady Nikki said, most seed catalogs offer zinnia seeds in single-color packets. My three favorite catalogs/websites for zinnias are Burpee Seed, Park Seed and Jung Seed because they have a very large selection. For example, if you like the 'Profusion' zinnias, Jung has them in approximately 8 different colors in single packets, and also offer a packet that is a mix of all the different colors. Burpee and Park both offer a wide selection of single colors, and usually one or the other, if not both, have the newer disease-resistant varieties like the Magellan series and the Dreamland series in single-color packets or mixes.

There are some exciting new zinnias coming onto the market in 2009, including a Knee-High Profusion zinnia that will be somewhat taller than the standard Profusion series and the new Zahara line of zinnias, in Yellow, White, Scarlet and Coral Rose. The Zahara series were chosen for part of the Olympic-related decorative landscaping in China for the 2008 Olympics. I don't know yet which retailers will have them, but have seen them in some wholesale/market gardener catalogs.

I also see lots of single-color packets on the seed racks in early spring, including at stores like Wal-mart, Lowe's, Home Depot and local farm stores or feed and seed stores. At the Wal-Mart nearest me, this spring, they had single color zinnias available in pink, purple, rose, red, yellow (the new Burpee Highlight Yellow) and White (White Wedding, I think). Target had pretty much the same colors, but also had Envy (Green) and a tall single Purple.

So, really, the single-color packets aren't that hard to find, especially early in the season. I have noticed that single colors in the stores sell out faster, usually before it is warm enough to plant them, so it probably would be a good idea to select and get your seed as soon as the seed racks appear in the stores.

Dawn